Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) (Rewritten)
by ITmaster
Summary: An overhauled Sonic 06 story. Sonic and his friends decided to embark in another adventure after a sudden crisis. But a dark force is lurking in the background, unleashing everything that he may be able to end Sonic's life and to fulfill his dream of a dark world. Now it is up to Sonic to save not just their world, but the entire timeline as well.


**Prologue: The experiment**

 **Hello and welcome to my first story! This is my first story in Fanfiction so far, so I have kept an open mind to this, since I'm a little new to this, though I have written stories numerous times (though I have not published those because... they're weird...).**

 **My goal in this story is to fix the things that needed to be fixed in the story and then add new plot elements if needed. I will also introduce some story arcs that would be familiar to Sonic 06, but I would flesh these out as time passes. Of course, this story will follow Sonic, Silver, and Shadow, but this time, they will have their personality, and there will be character growth across the board, including Elise, for I hate to see Sonic, and to a lesser extent, the Sonic Franchise being reduced to some garbage made by Sega. You probably knew why Sonic 06 is bad in the first place...**

 **I hope to finish this entire Story from start to finish, with either a monthly or a bi-weekly update if it's possible because of my schedule in College, and I will finish this, no matter what, for the fact that I have seen too many Sonic 06 rewrites ended up being either incomplete, or just complete garbage, and I do not want to be in either situation.**

 **With that being said, let's start this story!**

 **A disclaimer: I do not own this story, or the characters, or anything for that matter with Sonic. Sega does. Though I'm pretty sure that they'll disown Sonic 06.**

 **(UPDATE (6/27/2019): I'm really sorry that I haven't kept my promise in regards to the updates, apparently, college got in the way, and I haven't gotten myself much time to write this. Still, I will still keep my promise that I would finish this soon enough, currently almost done with Chapter 1 as of this moment.**

 **Also, I have updated this chapter so that the story would flow better, along with some problems that was stated by NebulaDreams, so a huge thanks to him and to all who have helped me in this.**

 **Now to the story.)**

* * *

"I'm sorry, Olga…"

The Duke of the kingdom of Soleanna said this as he held his head down while he was on his way back to the castle. His hand covered his face as he quietly moarned over what had happened earlier back in the hospital.

He held back his tears as he wiped them off, before he turned to watch from his window, hoping that it would keep his mind away from the tragedy that had happened.

But this didn't help him as he was saddened by the people that struggled to survive the current power crisis that plagued the entire world. With establishments closed, families earnestly waited for the supplies of rations that were slowly depleting, and buildings darkened from the lack of electricity.

Faced with the looming worldwide disaster, he recalled that he took it upon himself, along with the leading minds of that time, to resolve the depletion of the world's energy resources before the earth would once again face another resource war.

And after what had happened in the previous war from generations past, he knew that failure was not an option.

His limo slowly came to a stop as he had arrived to his destination, then he went on his way to the secret lab to perform one of the most ambitious, and the most dangerous, project that the world has ever known.

* * *

The machine pulsed in the lab, containing the creature that would've brought about the destruction of the world if not properly maintained. Scientists, both human and Mobian, crowded around the contraption, giving each other orders in deliberate and hushed tones, with faces glistening from the heat of the machine and clammy hands shakily writing on the notepads. There was a collective sense of dread looming over them like a thundercloud, yet they had to keep calm. This needed to work, or else all of humanity was doomed.

Lord Regis took a deep breath, trying to steady himself as he oversaw this controlled chaos in silence.

"What's going on, why in the world would the Duke arrive here early?" said Lord Regis

"I'm not sure, he has sent me to make sure that everything is prepared for his arrival. But there is something that you may need to know."

"What is it?"

"The people started to flood in," he muttered. "They were, eager to know about the condition of the queen, luckily the guards handled the situation. With the Duke urges me to hurry, I can't tell why but the servants have become gloomy... I fear the worst."

The lord bit his lips as he became worried for the well being of the queen, as well as the welfare of the Duke.

"This is a private matter, I thank you for the information, but you must not speak of this to anyone, lest there would be a commotion that would interfere with the entire experiment. Do you understand?"

Then, the doors opened as the Duke walked inside the room, his presence being felt throughout the entire complex that all the workers quieted down as he passed by.

"There is no need for the formalities, you may continue with your work." He then approached the contraption, trying his best to stay neutral, with his hand holding a golden sun-shaped pendant that contained the photographs of both his wife and daughter in his right pocket.

The Duke then went to Regis, who was reading the progress report after he had dismissed the servant, "How's the entire project going?"

"It is going really well, it will be finished in 3 months' time. All that is left is to strengthen those safeguards and tweak the machine to run it efficiently."

The Duke looked at his pendant for a moment "That is great to hear this news…"

Noticing this, the supervisor asked, "Is there something of the matter, my grace?"

"Nothing of the sort, I just need to speak to the people before we can start."

Regis narrowed his eyes at the Duke as he noticed his blank expression and his hand in his pocket, "I know what you're trying to do. Please tell me, that I may help you."

"What do you mean by that, what help could you possibly give that could make my situation better?"

"My grace… no, Zenias, I know you're trying to hide this private matter from everyone, but you need to tell me what's wrong, so that I can help you. I know this is hard for you, but we both known each other for a really long time, you have to trust me."

The Duke hesitated at first, and then knowing that he couldn't hide it any longer, told him "Can we speak somewhere private, somewhere that we can speak freely? We'll talk about the experiment later."

"Of course."

Then they went out of the area, walking towards the hallway and into the door on the right immediately after, to the room where the supervisor does his internal work for the project, who is also working as a special advisor for the king.

* * *

Regis locked the door and as they entered the room. The first thing the Duke noticed was the room was dimly lit, though Regis didn't bother to.

As Regis went to his wooden desk, the Duke sifted his fingers over some old books in a disorganized bookshelf as he let his mind wander through the room before he finally sat on the chair that stood in front of the paper-filled desk.

The supervisor then closed the curtains, and sat down on his leather chair before he began to speak to the Duke again, with a certain calmness that emanated through his voice "So my grace, what seems to be the matter?"

The Duke sighed at the thought, his eyes beginning to water as he tried to speak even a word to him, but nothing came out of his mouth. Then he relaxed himself for a mere moment before he finally spoke, "Do you still remember the time when Olga gave birth to my daughter Elise?"

"Sure, I do. You were thrilled once you got the news from the doctor..." the supervisor said, before trailing out to give thought to what the Duke just said. He knew where he was getting at, but was afraid to even tell it to him "Wait, do you mean…"

The Duke sobbed "Yes… I… My wife… Olga... is…"

He then bursted into tears. Regis went and held his hand tightly

"I'm so sorry…"

There was silence for a minute as they gathered their thoughts.

"It was because of the complications that came when giving birth. She kept it up for years before it started to show up. And when it did… I took her to the hospital. I wanted to be with her through all this, but the nurse wouldn't let me, then…"

"Please, my grace, you don't want to think about this right now." Lord Regis stopped as the Duke held back his tears.

They both fell silent for a moment.

Regis knew he needed to calm the Duke down, when he thought about this, he began to regret his decision in the first place. He couldn't even imagine what the Duke was going through. Even so, he knew that the Duke needed to get back into things soon, for the sake of the entire kingdom.

"My grace, I know it isn't in my place to say this, but you need not relive it any longer. It must have been hard for you to tell me that day and I am terribly sorry for your loss, but know that there are people that still care for you, that love you, that need you. The kingdom needs you now more than ever. Be strong, that's what Olga would want."

"I appreciate your help. Thank you." said the Duke as he wiped his tears.

"It's alright." Said the supervisor. They waited for a moment before he continued "Has Elise known already about what had happened?"

The Duke sighed at this "No, she hasn't. But I should tell her about that later, after the experiment."

"I don't think so, if you do this, she might find out about this one way or another. You should let her know about what had happened to her mother. Though it may hurt, I may be sure that you won't regret this decision."

"But if I can hide this for a little longer, she doesn't have to know any of this, if she does…"

"It's better to say it now than never, at least she would understand about what has happened, then things could slowly recover."

The Duke thought about what the supervisor had said. Would it even be worth telling her about what happened to her mother in the first place? It would be hard, and an air of uncertainty blew upon him on how his daughter would take it. If he explained it to her, he knew that he would be left with a broken child in his hands. And neither he, nor the Queen that.

"Alright, I'll do it, but could you do me a favor?"

"I'm listening…"

"If I couldn't tell it to her, you have to tell it for me, no matter what happens. It doesn't matter regardless of whether the experiment went well, but if it doesn't, for my sake, tell it to her."

"I'm not fully fine with this, but if that's what you wish, then I'll do it."

"I really do appreciate this, thank you." said the Duke as the tension from his muscles begin to relax from this reassurance.

Regis stood from his chair "Alright, then I think we have a project to finish. Make sure to do this before the experiment can begin." They left the room and began to walk back through the hallway, then into the room where the prototype was.

As they approached there, his mind was still disturbed, though less to the level that it was before. He still felt grief and sorrow for what happened, but he knew what he must do in order to put all of this to rest. A thought however dawned in his mind turned that grief into a renewed sense of determination that drove him to the edge. He knew that he must save his wife, her daughter's mother, from the fate that would doom her.

It was the thought of going back in time.

* * *

When he arrived, he was greeted with the same manner of respect they gave earlier; he nodded to them before he continued towards the prototype. But behind him, while he entered, a girl entered from the secret entrance into the castle. Before he could come close, that person hugged him. And by then, he knew who this was. When he saw her, he placed his hand on his forehead, trying to calm his nerves as he tried to gather his thoughts on what to do. He was so distressed that he had put himself in a disadvantageous situation.

"Elise, what are you doing here?"

It was a little girl with her pajamas wearing a grin that made anyone smile, "Hello daddy."

"Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to see you daddy. Can I stay?"

"Of course, just some other time."

"No, I want to be with you."

"Go back to your room, it is too dangerous to stay here…" But Elise begged "Daddy, I just can't! It's no fun for me to be alone."

"Elise, you should really go back. It's not safe."

"But daddy…"

The Duke yelled "Now!"

She looked at him confused, before she began to sob and ran away.

The Duke knew that this would make his entire plan of telling her the truth even harder. He knew had to make this right, before was too late.

Then, as he was still in his thoughts, the supervisor told him, "It is time, the experiment is ready to go, and we can't afford any delays right now. We need to do this now."

"Run the final checklists and assemble the entire team, I'll inform them about our progress. We'll start soon afterwards."

"Of course, my lord, I'll make those final preparations at once."

The Duke left the room and as he sifted for the speech papers in his office's cabinet; he sighed.

"What was I thinking, scaring her off like that? How am I going to make it up to her after this?"

Once he found his documents, he left the room, and almost stepped in the direction of the assembly room when he stopped to look at his watch. There was half an hour left until he had to conduct his speech. He could've made it to Elise's room at that time, and if worst came to worst, this would've been the last chance he had to make amends. He headed towards the other direction, darting through the hallway to the elevator, up to the secret passageway, and all the way up the stairway before he reached his daughter's room in the east wing.

* * *

As the workers in the room convened, a scientist calibrated the instruments for the machine, tweaking some things that needs to be adjusted before checking those calibrations for the last time as Lord Regis passed by him.

"How are the calibrations?" Regis asked.

The scientist replied, "It's doing well, my lord, but I'm having trouble trying to normalize the energy readings."

"What happened?"

"Somehow, the energy readings are rising, even though the connection between the power source and the main motherboard are completely off."

"I see, do you know a way to severe its connection?"

"I know a way to solve this issue."

The scientist then performed typed in the computer beside the instruments the commands, and when he executed the codes there, a large circular enchanted lid began to close the pit, forcing all of its energy that was emitted from there to the machine to vanish completely.

When the entire closing process was complete, both the scientist and the supervisor sighed in relief.

"That was a close call; it would have turned this entire project into a catastrophe if it weren't for that lid, a fine work there." Lord Regis said.

"I agree on that, I'm pretty sure that we can hold it up until the demonstration starts. Then we can fix the underlying problem of a potential overload."

"I do hope that you are able to do this, and that the lid can hold up that much pressure. But I must ask, is there a way to vent up the excess pressure in there, because the last thing we need is for the creature from below to actually escape."

"I believe that we are prepared for such a scenario, we used the same lid as it was used when the pit was first sealed by Solaris. I don't think Iblis is going anywhere from there."

When Regis heard this, he was pleased and complimented "This may turn out well after all; I'll report this to the Duke about all that happened. You better join the assembly there soon once you're done with that, job well done." He then went up to the scientist and patted him in the back in gladness before he went back to check up on the other workers.

The scientist was rather delighted when he heard this, though he still worries about the state of the project now that something like this happened. He fears that if this might continue, then everyone in that room would be doomed to the clutches of death, though the other side of him says that he was just simply overreacting. He figured that if he would quickly recheck the entire system, then he would be reassured that the project would go smoothly as planned, and all thoughts of what happened earlier would be nothing more than a hiccup.

So, he continued to calibrate the machines, with the additional task of having to briefly check all the systems. After a few moments, he was finally done, to which he knew that he was supposed to relax after doing all this.

But his dread only grew further, and it was so because of the very same reason that caused it.

He knew that he needs to inform supervisor, or better yet, the Duke before the problem began to blow out of proportion.

For the energy gauge started rising again.

* * *

As The Duke waited outside his daughter's room, the facility's whirs and automatons pulsed through the stony floor, sending vibrations through his withered body.

He placed his hand on the knob and sighed as he withdrew his hand, unsure if his daughter would even listen to him after what had happened. With a deep breath, he took hold of the knob and opened the door.

His daughter's bed was all ruffled up, with Elise still crying it, as the pillow covered her face. She knew that she had done something wrong, but her thoughts went up empty as she tried to find a reason as to why her father got mad at her. So, when her father stood in front of her as she was crying, she became all the more confused. She dug her face into the pillows in her bed as she retreated into her thoughts.

She would usually think of the good times that happened whenever her mother was around, she would read a storybook with her, or play with Elise when she had the chance, or the times when she would be the one who would usually wake her up in the morning instead of the castle maids, just to greet her and talk to her about her plans for the day.

She had a lot of fond memories of her mother because of this, that because of this, she would cherish her moments with her. Though she also had great moments with her father as well, like when he would compliment her when she had high grades, or when he brought her with him to some of the kingdom's events with her mother that are actually fun and enjoyable.

Her thoughts then continued to scatter as her father approached from the door, before he sat on her bed.

"Elise, can I talk to you?"

There was no response from her daughter ash she continued to sob underneath her pillows.

He tried to remove one of the pillows covering her face, but her hand got a hold of that pillow to guard it.

Finally, the Duke shook his head in frustration as he saw her daughter's unwillingness to let him speak, but he refused to give in to anger and tried to calm his nerves. "Elise, I don't know if you can hear me or if you are willing to listen to me, though you tried to deafen your ears, at least grant me this chance for me to talk to you and for you to listen to me."

When Elise, even with the pillows in her face, heard this, she tried to gather her thoughts for a mere moment before she slowly uncovered her right ear, then she nodded before the Duke continued.

"Elise, I'm sorry for what happened earlier, I have not been myself ever since this morning. I didn't mean to get angry and I'm sorry for that. Can you forgive me for this?"

When she heard this, she threw herself into the Duke and hugged him "I forgive you daddy, and I'm sorry for disturbing you back down there…" As Elise hugged him, and as she let her tears fall down from her face, the Duke wrapped his arms around her with a loving smile. Elise' father then released his arm from her "My daughter, come sit beside me." to which his daughter did as she snuggled herself right in her father's arms.

"Why did you go to the lab? It's too dangerous for you to be there."

"I know that daddy, but I couldn't find my mother anywhere. I tried asking the maids, but they just told me she went out of the castle and that it would take her a while before she came back."

"But that doesn't mean that you should go down there. You even surprised me when I was talking with the supervisor; think of what would have happened if I was carrying something dangerous or if I was trying to fix something. You should know better than that."

"Yes, daddy. Again, I'm sorry for that."

"It's alright. Just don't do that again, I swear, you had the recklessness of your mother when you went down there, even with my warning." The Duke smirked as Elise giggled.

"Come on daddy, you know that I'm gonna be just like my mother when I grow up. I wanna be a strong queen who would protect the kingdom from fiends, make the people happy, and be able to change the world for the better in the best way I can."

"…and the spirit, also the spirit. Of course, you're going to be a great queen when the time comes. Don't forget what I and your mother taught you, and you're going to do great things."

"I know daddy, for what would I've been without you and mother." she looked at him with eyes that sparkled like the noonday ocean.

They continued to happily talk away their problems, with the Duke finally relieved from all the stress and the emotions that had happened earlier, to the point where he had almost forgotten about what had happened to his wife, and the advice that his supervisor gave him earlier.

The Duke checked his watch and stood up.

"I should go back to the lab, for the experiment was about to start and I don't wanna be late. My daughter, stay here and take care."

"I love you."

"I love you too, daddy." Elise said as she left her father's embrace.

As the Duke was about to leave, he thought that everything was going to be fine, until his daughter asked him something that shook his heart once more.

"When is mother gonna come back?"

He sweated at this as he was about to turn the knob to open the door, he sighed in sadness for a mere moment "Soon enough, my daughter. She will be back."

Then he turned back and opened the door, but before he could close it, he turned and smiled "Do you come and watch the experiment with me?"

Elise grinned "Yes! Of course I want to come with you."

"Come, follow me." the Duke said as his daughter ran through the door "Be careful and stay in the observatory room, so that I can be sure that you're safe. Do you understand?"

Elise nodded in acknowledgement.

They went down the stairs and walked behind the stairway, as the guards who were present near the elevator acknowledged the Duke's presence and opened the elevator for him.

As they were waiting in the descending elevator, the Duke only had one thing in mind. To activate the machine and to go back in time to save his wife before she died, and to do all this before his daughter could find out the truth behind her mother.

* * *

The Duke had arrived in the lab, together with his daughter, who held hands with him. The Duke approached to Regis. After he heard about the problem, asked "Then it is safe for me to assume that the machine is operational and that I can start the experiment?"

"It is, my lord. I am certain that we're ready to begin."

"Then lead the way, and after this, can you tell that worker that he has my gratitude for handling the situation exceptionally?" Said the Duke as his muscles relaxed.

"I would gladly do it, my lord."

Then lord Regis led both the Duke and Elise to the metallic control panel at the bottom of the glass tube, where the Duke began to prepare for the start of the experiment.

When he took out the papers that he had acquired before he entered the lab, which contained the context that he would use for the demonstration later, he was reminded of Elise's safety and told her "Elise, can you do me a favor and go upstairs to the observation room, so that I can be sure that you'll be safe no matter what happens here."

"But you'll be alright, won't you? Promise me that you'll come back to me."

When he heard this, he hesitated at first, but he reassured his daughter.

"I promise."

As she heard his, she nodded before she ran towards him and hugged him for one more time before she left the room. With his mind still wondering as to if he had made the right decision, he smiled as she went on her way.

After Elise settled herself in the observation room, where she earnestly waited for her father to do something that she might think would be incredible, the Duke then exchanged a glance with lord Regis.

Lord Regis said, "You could have told her the truth."

"And then be left with a broken daughter, that I cannot afford. As soon as I travel back in time and save the love of my life, I will then tell her the truth. I'm sorry lord Regis, but I simply can't do this."

"Then I understand, I will stand by whatever choice you make, and I am sorry for having you feel bad."

"I forgive you, my friend. For now, let's finish this."

"As you command, my lord, may I wish you success in this endeavor."

The Duke then smiled at him before told one of his servants to call into attention all scientists to start the experimentation proceedings, he then went to the center of the room, where he stood right behind the control panel that held the main functions of the machine.

After this has been done, all the workers in the room shifted their focus to the Duke, with the entire room completely silent for a moment, the Duke breathed slowly, as the pressure and the sadness that he had has gotten to him, but he has to do this, for Olga.

He took a deep breath before he began to speak towards the entire team.

"As you may have known, this would be the first time that we would be testing a machine that is capable of generating an enormous amount of energy coming from a being that is known for causing the destruction of the former world with its flames."

"Using the destructive power of the demon that has been trapped inside this sealed chamber, and converting its power, then concentrating it into an energy signature similar to that of a Chaos Emerald, we can finally bring about an infinite supply of energy that mankind has been looking for ever since the energy crisis has started…"

The Duke then grabbed on to the lever switch as he continued "…and because of its incredible amount of power, we are now about to perform the impossible. The very thing that mankind has sought for next to immortality."

He then pulled the lever from the control panel for him to turn on the machine, then people from their respective stations start monitoring the machine as it was being initialized.

As they were looking in curiosity on the Duke's actions, the Duke said, "We now have the means to travel through time."

At this, the entire room grew surprised at what their Duke has just said, as they doubted this, for they were confused as to the Duke's intentions, especially when they knew that they are supposed to work on a machine that would harvest the energy of the flaming creature.

Nevertheless, the different scientific, mechanical, and mystical group of workers went to their stations and started working.

Scientists began to monitor the machine as it ran, while the mechanical engineers adjusted the machine to avoid a potential overload, and the mages tried hard to maintain the protective barrier around the pit that contained the creature and the cylindrical tube above it.

As they did all this, they still had the doubt of the Duke's actions in mind, but even so, they knew that they couldn't risk failure once it has been initialized, lest the machine, or the creature would compromise the entire research area.

From the observational area, Elise watched with wonder and spectacle in her eyes, for she knew that her father usually comes with inventions that would usually blew her mind, since this has been a regular practice for the Duke every year, her father would know what he was doing.

As the workers in the experimental area performed their duties, the lid was opened bit by bit, as that happened, a ribbon of fire was released and sent into the cylindrical chamber, where it captured its heat before being sent to the module above the cylinder where it was converted into electrical energy.

When they continued with the experiment, the creature deep inside the pit struggled for a chance to escape, but the seal blocked its way out as the machine continued, but then when it began to realize the fact that its energy was being sapped by the machine, it began to release more of its furious flames from the pit.

But the machine continued to function, as the scientists monitored the machine as it continued to produce electrical energy from the creature. When the machine finally stabilized, everyone in the room all breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few moments, lights started to flash on one area of the lab. One of the scientists exclaimed "The output voltage is too much! The machine can't handle this much energy being produced all at once!"

The Duke ordered him "Close the lid at once!".

People in the warning sector started to close the pit with the sealing lid, but then the workers in that area hastily informed the Duke "My lord, we can't complete the sealing process! The thermal energy coming from the creature is overwhelming the controls!"

Then a separate sector, stationed near the converter module, informed the Duke, "The temperature levels is exceeding safe levels, attempting to inject a cooling agent into the chamber."

The Duke gave a quick nod of approval before they proceeded with the cooling process, but when they have done so, the creature released as much fire as it could conjure, causing the cooling agent to quickly evaporate.

"The cooling agent isn't working, the temperature is still rising!"

The Duke stood in silence at the inevitable destruction that the creature would initiate, as he thought about what he needed to do to quell the problem.

But he could not find a definite solution.

The temperature in the room continued to rise, to the point where the scientists began to sweat profusely.

Then one of the main operators of the machine, which stood right beside the Duke, got his attention "A meltdown is inevitable, you need to order an immediate evacuation of the area!"

He hollered this order "Everyone, evacuate the area immediately! Run while you still can!"

Everyone in the entire basement area began the evacuation, as the alarms rang throughout the room, every personnel in the area rushed to leave in the emergency stairways that were stationed on both the left and right wings of the basement level, which lead to the garden area and the library, respectively.

Some workers in the area however, opted to stay, in the hopes that they might have a chance to completely prevent a disaster, or if not, delay the meltdown as much as possible that all the people in the area could flee with their lives, with one of those being lord Regis, who sought to overlook the entire evacuation procedure and to help those who needed it.

Elise stood in the observational area, completely immobilized with fear as the alarm rang throughout the area and the people continued to escape the area, including the room that she was in. She was scared because of what might happen to her father and of the events that unfolded in the machine.

The Duke knew any effort to prevent the meltdown was useless. With that in mind, he tried to manually override the controls, that the safety mechanism might kick in and contain the chamber, and if not, the entire facility altogether.

As he was doing this, he noticed Elise as she stood there in complete helplessness and fear. With despair in his eyes, he immediately told lord Regis "Get my daughter to safety, if anything happens to me, tell her that I'm sorry, then reveal the truth."

Lord Regis, with an apologetic look in his face, told him "But I need you to get out of here, the kingdom still needs you. Your daughter still needs you."

"There were only two people in this entire facility that can quell the creature, and I do not want my daughter to suffer the fate that I am about to have. You two must leave."

"But my lord, Zenias…"

The Duke continued, with tears in his eyes "You have done well in your service to me, my friend... Take care of my daughter for me…"

Then Regis embraced the Duke for a moment, as they knew that it would be their last time seeing each other, with Regis knowing that he would never get a chance to serve a true friend from that moment on.

Regis rushed out of the area as debris began to crash upon the floor and flames began to spread all around the entire basement facility. With no time to waste, he hastily ran to the observational room, hoping that his promise to the Duke didn't go to waste.

* * *

The entire lab continued to break down, as the Duke and the remaining workers continued to work in the hopes of averting disaster, unknowingly aware that the creature mustered all its power to completely break free.

One of the scientist informed the Duke as his hands stood quiet and his body began to feel the full effects of the rising temperatures "My lord, the seal has reached its critical point, the power from the creature is reaching its full potential, the entire area is going to be destroyed!"

The Duke sternly reminded him "There are still people that needed to be saved, hang on for a bit longer, it's almost over!".

With all the chaos in the lab still going on, Elise still looked on in the observational room, as she helplessly watched her father work, knowing that he wouldn't leave until everyone left the building. Even though she knew that she needed to leave, she wanted to be sure that her father is still alive and well amidst the flames that surrounded him and his fellow workers.

As they still worked on the machine, the creature released his power for one last time, in the form of a flaring beam, to destroy the seal that had trapped it for four millennia. As it was doing so, it created a dazzling bright light from the seal, which caused the glass chamber to be enveloped in a bright aura of light.

When that had happened, Elise, out of desperation, banged on the glass display of the observational area with her two hands and shouted "Daddy!", hoping that her father would notice and flee from the area.

The Duke noticed this and called out to her "Elise!".

Then the glass chamber broke, and as the pressure gave way, the temperature spiked at that moment, which turned everyone in the experimental area to ash. And with that, the feared creature known as Iblis was released.

 **(Note: it's better to read this section with the music "Never cry, no matter what (Sonic 06 OST)" in the background)**

Its flames enveloped the creature as it began to take shape, its arms grasped on the panels, which seared it with its burning prints, and its body began to surface with its molten skin as it emerged from the ruins, with its face being like that of a rocky monster that has been released from hell, and horns that adorned its forehead and its mouth.

Everyone died at that moment, except for a little girl, which stood from the broken shards of glass from the explosion, as she glanced, looking for her father, for her beacon of hope, before seeing the creature. And her knees gave way from the grief, deep sadness overtook her as she suddenly realized, before releasing it with her tears.

The creature continued to display its power as it released its fiery rings, which encircled the creature as it roared loudly in defiance as it continued to ravage the destroyed lab. It then continued to destroy everything in the lab with its bulky arms.

With humility, Elise bowed her head and continued to cry as she had lost her pride and joy of her life, not knowing the danger that she was in.

When the creature noticed her, it was reminded of the demise it had suffered from the hands of a similar girl and was about to grasp her, until a magical barrier appeared and blocked the creature from even touching her. Then it tried to release a beam of fire, but suddenly, a figure arrived at that moment and took Elise out of its reach. Before it even had the chance to fire, a metal wall then replaced the glass window as it shut the creature from the outside world, and with haste, the mysterious figure left with the princess.

Then the duo continued to flee as the facility began to lock itself down with a rapid succession of metal walls, closing off each area section by section. Elise then looked behind as the figure ran towards the elevator, and, with her very last ounce of strength, whispered "My dad…", before she slipped into unconsciousness.

 **(End Music)**

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 **I hope this story would grow into something big. Make sure to give your constructive criticism and your thoughts in the reviews. I'll answer any questions if there are any.**

 **To the next chapter we go: "Chapter 1: Hope within the Flames"**


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